Jennifer Garner Says She Cried In A Bathroom After 'Felicity' Audition
Jennifer Garner broke down while auditioning for a career-changing role — and got the part.
On Wednesday’s episode of the “Dear Felicity” podcast, the actor said that her tryout for the TV series “Felicity,” which ran from 1998-2002, included a scene so emotional that she continued weeping after it finished.
“I remember the audition,” she said. “I remember going into the bathroom after because the scene was so emotional and I needed to cry. I needed to hide in the bathroom stall and finish the cry that I started in the audition because it was such a powerful scene.”
Garner landed the role and went on to appear in three episodes of the WB drama. The recurring part led series co-creator J.J. Abrams to cast Garner in another show, “Alias” — which truly made her a star in 2001.
Garner recalled that she auditioned for what “must have been the breakup scene,” which “Felicity” fans may remember. She played the long-distance girlfriend of actor Scott Foley’s character, and the fictional couple split on Thanksgiving.
In real life, Garner and Foley married in 2000 but divorced in 2004. She and Ben Affleck then married the following year but divorced in 2018.
Elsewhere on “Dear Felicity,” Garner praised Abrams and “Felicity” co-creator Matt Reeves as “true directors.”
“After the first read, I really was invested and was like, ‘Oh, gosh, I really want to do this,’” she said.
“Felicity” would just be the beginning of Garner’s professional relationship with Abrams. Their work on “Alias” helped turn both of them into major Hollywood players, with Abrams going on to create “Lost” and Garner snagging feature film roles.